Cantaloupe and cherry pops

It has been ages since the last time I had home-made fruit pops. Then the sudden heat, the still air and the cicadas have reminded me of a little good habit I used to have as a child.

At that time I was well away from the appeal of the ice cream maker and the unusual ingredients, so I used to blend some randomly chosen fruit into the big blender glass (an ugly brown plastic blender glass, dramatically ’80s fashion), to add some water or orange juice and then pour the fruit purée into round little moulds, where you could insert a toothpick to use as an ice cream stick. Then I used to tuck them into the freezer for a few hours, waiting patiently to enjoy them as refreshing afternoon snack.

How I loved those summers! Long, calm, full of books and Mickey Mouse strips, little sheds built in the backyard, long bicycle rides and shooting stars.

When Claudia was just a little puppy, there was the Polarettifashion instead. When you ate them, your tongue would get coloured for sure, they tasted a bit fake but they were so fun and easy to make, even for a cute little blonde girl with scraped knees as Claudia. Every time she put them into the freezer, she just missed slipping into the drawer, being so tiny!

Mu – mu – mum will you buy me the po – po – Polaretti? huh? when she was very young she used to stammer the first syllables, it was so fun!

And then comes the summer of 2011, the honey flavoured cantaloupes from the farmer’s market and the ruby red cherries… Add some honey to the fruit, to enhance the almost spicy and floral hint of the melon, one of the most fragrant and sweet fruits of summer. Combine the fruit with Greek yoghurt to give to the popsicles the same soft creaminess of an ice cream.

Remove the skin and cut the cantaloupe into cubes, put them into the blender glass along with the lime juice, the honey and the Greek yoghurt. Blend until you get a creamy mild orange purée.

Pour the cantaloupe purée into the popsicle moulds (you can use vodka shot as well), sprinkle in a few cherries here and there and put into the refrigerator. As soon as it gets a bit firm, insert the wooden stick. Return the moulds to the freezer.

Freeze for several hours or better overnight, until solid.

To serve, run hot water on the sides of the moulds to help you to release your fruit pops.

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If you usually make fruit popsicles to avoid milk and dairy products, you can easily use orange juice instead of Greek yoghurt.

These look utterly delicious and, as people say above, so refreshing. I used to make frozen lollies all the time as a little girl but these look like a much more sophisticated option. I’ve got a couple of melons just turning completely ripe so might have a go at this over the weekend.